The Lost World: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 70 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
7,809 different words. On average 53 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,729 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
professor, indians, plateau, john, lord. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 11.88 words ending in 'ly' and 14.26 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 3.7% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 7.6% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 31% of sentences: i, it, the, he, we.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 477 |
| it | 279 |
| the | 272 |
| he | 165 |
| we | 148 |
| but | 114 |
| you | 106 |
| there | 98 |
| in | 83 |
| what | 81 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.73 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
124 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.62 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 6: At last I was alone with Gladys, and the moment of Fate had come! All that evening I had felt like the soldier who awaits the signal which …
Ch 1, para 7: She sat with that proud, delicate profile of hers outlined against the red curtain. How beautiful she was! And yet how aloof! We had been friends, quite good …
Ch 2, para 32: "Went to South America on a solitary expedeetion two years ago. Came back last year. Had undoubtedly been to South America, but refused to say exactly where. Began …
Ch 2, para 47: "Well, I'm a bacteriologist, you know. I live in a nine-hundred-diameter microscope. I can hardly claim to take serious notice of anything that I can see with my …
Ch 3, para 2: My friend's fear or hope was not destined to be realized. When I called on Wednesday there was a letter with the West Kensington postmark upon it, and …
Ch 3, para 20: With these encouraging words the lady handed me over to the taciturn Austin, who had waited like a bronze statue of discretion during our short interview, and I …
Doyle uses similes frequently to describe prehistoric creatures and landscape. Examples include iguanodons compared to kangaroos (quote 20) and the ape-king described as a handsome personality (quote 31). Metaphors appear in Roxton's self-description as 'the Flail of the Lord' (quote 6).
Chapters: Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 13
I was the Flail of the Lord (Ch 6, para 1)
they looked like monstrous kangaroos, twenty feet in length, and with skins like black crocodiles. (Ch 10, para 35)
The king of the ape-men was really a creature of great distinction--a most remarkably handsome and intelligent personality (Ch 13, para 74)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 60%, sound 24%, touch 14%, taste 1%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 508 |
| sound | 203 |
| touch | 116 |
| taste | 10 |
| smell | 7 |
Sight dominates throughout, with detailed visual descriptions of creatures and landscape. Sound appears in war drums and creature calls (quote 13). Touch features in physical encounters with creatures. Smell and taste are rarely used.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12
We will kill you if we can. We will kill you if we can. (Ch 8, para 13)
A face was gazing into mine--at the distance of only a foot or two. The creature that owned it had been crouching behind the parasite (Ch 11, para 64)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
65 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.85 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in descriptions of dangers and discoveries. Repetition marks key moments: Gladys's line about heroism echoes from chapter 1 to chapter 12 (quotes 1, 25). The phrase 'we will kill you' repeats (quote 13).
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 8, Ch 12
There are heroisms all round us waiting to be done. It's for men to do them, and for women to reserve their love as a reward for such men. (Ch 1, para 35)
We will kill you if we can. We will kill you if we can. (Ch 8, para 13)
I thought of Gladys, with her "There are heroisms all round us." I seemed to hear her voice as she said it. (Ch 12, para 3)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whence, art, whilst, betwixt.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whence | 4 |
| art | 2 |
| whilst | 2 |
| betwixt | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Doyle shows character through action rather than summary. Malone's courage is demonstrated through his solo night journey to the lake (chapter 12) rather than stated. Roxton's bravery is shown through his rifle work and rescue (quote 30) rather than told.
Chapters: Ch 12, Ch 13
Lord John's rifle cracked, and the king sank down, a tangled red sprawling thing, upon the ground (Ch 13, para 42)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action throughout. When the expedition reaches the plateau, Doyle describes the landscape while they explore it (chapters 8 to 10). Creature descriptions emerge as the party encounters them, not in separate blocks.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 3.66 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| saw | 75 |
| thought | 52 |
| seemed | 51 |
| heard | 48 |
| felt | 19 |
| knew | 17 |
| realized | 7 |
| watched | 7 |
| noticed | 3 |
| wondered | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from romantic comedy in chapter 1 to scientific inquiry in chapters 2 to 5, then to adventure and survival in chapters 9 to 14, and finally to triumph mixed with personal disappointment in chapter 16. The ending is bittersweet rather than purely triumphant.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 9, Ch 16
No," said she, "I am Gladys Potts. Let me introduce you to my husband. (Ch 16, para 42)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from Malone's deception of Challenger (chapter 3), Roxton's blunt testing of Malone (chapter 6), and the contrast between scientific skepticism and extraordinary discoveries. The pterodactyl's escape at the lecture (chapter 16) provides slapstick humour.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 6, Ch 16
To get there. Once I am in his room I may see some opening. I may even go the length of open confession. If he is a sportsman he will be tickled. (Ch 2, para 74)
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